One of UCLA’s most distinguished alumni, Ralph J. Bunche is widely known as an international statesman and Nobel Prize winner who negotiated the landmark Palestine Accord between the new state of Israel and the Arab nations in 1949. But he was also an outspoken advocate for civil rights in the United States and one of the most important scholars on U.S. race relations in the 20th century.

In honor of Bunche’s life and in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of his birthday, UCLA has renamed its African American Studies center the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. The university will hold a renaming ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 9 from 4 to 6 p.m. in Dickson Plaza.

“We could think of no more worthy individual after whom to name the center,� said Darnell Hunt, director of the Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies. “UCLA valedictorian, Nobel Prize winner, scholar of race relations, tireless advocate for civil rights – Dr. Ralph J. Bunche most perfectly embodies all of the elements that have defined our work at the center for the past 35 years, as well as the ideals that will inspire this work in the future.�

At the ceremony, Ralph J. Bunche Jr. will receive an award in honor of his father. UCLA Chancellor Albert Carnesale will make welcoming remarks. Popular artist and UCLA benefactor LeRoy Neiman has created a portrait of Bunche that the center will unveil during the ceremony.

The event also kicks off a year of UCLA commemorations honoring Bunche’s centenary, which includes academic programs that will explore his legacy and a comprehensive lesson plan that supports learning about Bunche.

"Bunche's achievements in scholarship, diplomacy, and civil rights were monumental and deserve widespread recognition,� said Scott Waugh, UCLA’s dean of social sciences and chair of the Ralph Bunche Centenary Los Angeles Planning committee. “UCLA is proud to have a place in that legacy and to participate with others in Los Angeles and around the country in bringing greater awareness of Bunche's accomplishments."

At UCLA, Bunche also is the namesake of a prominent academic building. Since 1974, a UCLA alumni scholarship has benefited about 425 students who have track records of academic excellence and community involvement. Bunche’s name will now also be associated with the interdisciplinary center for African-American research and instruction.

Bunche was raised in Watts by his grandmother, Lucy Taylor Johnson, who taught her grandson to believe in himself, in the value of education and work, and in the essential goodness of his fellow human beings. As a political science major at UCLA, he excelled as a debater, was a Daily Bruin columnist, reigned as a star basketball player and ultimately graduated valedictorian in 1927.

When Bunche was accepted on scholarship to Harvard for graduate studies, Southern Californians formed a scholarship fund for him, which raised $1,000 toward his living expenses. He became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in government and international relations at Harvard.

Always looking to place localized racial conflict in a broader context, Bunche, the political scientist, contributed hundreds of pages of incisive, original research to Gunnar Myrdal’s paradigm-establishing treatise on race, “An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy.�

In celebration of Bunche’s centenary, various activities and honors are taking place at UCLA.

Grade 9-12 education planning guide entitled “The Life and Work of Ralph Bunche�

· This month, the National Center for History in the Schools will publish a 180-page planning guide for the nation’s high schools. The plan follows Bunche’s life and career. Copies of the lesson will be available at the Oct. 9 ceremony. For more information on the lesson plan, visit www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs.

Exhibits of Bunche holdings by UCLA’s Charles E. Young Research Library

· Home to one of the most extensive collections of Bunche’s papers, the University Research Library’s special collections department has launched a preliminary digital exhibition of highlights from the Bunche collection. The exhibition is online at www.library.ucla.edu/bunche. A physical display of the library’s Bunche holdings will go on view beginning January 2004.

Bunche’s contributions to American intellectual life and African independence

· UCLA’s Bunche Center will host a Feb. 20-21 conference that will focus on Bunche’s contribution to the landmark 1944 study “An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modern Democracy,� the most comprehensive look to date at American race relations.

· UCLA’s African Studies Center and Globalization Research Center-Africa will host a spring 2004 conference on Bunche’s impact on the decolonization of Africa.